Listening to Wayne Gretzky and Kevin Lowe alternate additions to the Canadian Olympic men's hockey team Saturday reminded you of Claude Rains' unforgettable line at the end of Casablanca, just after Bogart has (in self-defense, naturally) plugged the despicable Gestapo chief, Major Strasser: "Round up the usual suspects."

	Wayne Gretzky, right, gives the thumbs-up sign next to Team Canada's head coach Pat Quinn on Saturday.

Theo Fleury. Brendan Shanahan. Joe Nieuwendyk. Eric Lindros. Adam Foote. Al MacInnis. Martin Brodeur. There aren't many suspects more usual than that.

Amidst much pomp and fanfare, in a nationally televised event held at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, no less, Gretzky, Lowe and coach Pat Quinn announced the roster that in Canada commands as much national interest as a basketball Dream Team unveiling does across the U.S.

"I've played in a number of Stanley Cups and this ranks right up there," said Lowe, the executive VP for the team. "There was a lot of hard work went into selecting this team."

Doubtless, still, there were no oohs and aahs of surprise as the names were read, no Joe Thornton or Vincent Lecavalier or Roberto Luongo as Goalie No. 3. Oh, in Jarome Iginla and Simon Gagne and Eric Brewer, a few knowing nods were made to the future. But for a selection process that was to inspire William F. Buckley-esque debate from coast to coast, the end result proved for a definitely better-safe-than-sorry afternoon. Tried and true ruled the day.

Detroit coach Scotty Bowman already had leaked word that Shanahan, apparently on the bubble to make this team, had a spot locked. Surely no one with even a passing knowledge of partisan politics expected Derek Morris of the Flames to leapfrog Edmonton's Brewer.

The Canadian brass was supposed to be left with difficult, perhaps impossible, choices, given the number of quality players at its disposal.

When in fact, once they got past the automatics -- Fleury, for spunk; Michael Peca, for leadership; Al MacInnis, for goalie fear factor; Eric Lindros, for everybody fear factor -- there really weren't all that many spots open for the taking.

The 15 additions joined initial selections Mario Lemieux, Owen Nolan, Joe Sakic, Paul Kariya, Chris Pronger, Scott Niedermayer, Rob Blake and Steve Yzerman.

There could be no denying Calgary right winger Jarome Iginla, for instance. He's only the NHL's leading goal-scorer and point-producer, so leaving him off the final list would've made a sham of the entire selection process.

Brodeur has been only fitfully good in Jersey this season but there could be no omitting him, either, while Ryan Smyth's ankle injury wasn't enough to scare Gretzky and Co. away.

	“	We were looking for more a possession game. While the defenseman (in Nagano) were great players, maybe there wasn't enough of that capability. This is a team with a lot of possibilities.”
		— Pat Quinn, Team Canada coach

While the team wound up being fairly automatic, the talent level is anything but. They couldn't go wrong with any of the selections, but all of them might not wind up being right. Canada heads to Salt Lake with more good players than any other country, which guarantees them absolutely nothing, of course, as was proven in Nagano.

And the uncertainly surrounding the hip injury to captain Mario Lemieux is sure to give the entire country minor stomach tremors from now until February.

"Whenever the best player in the world is injured, it's got to be a worry," said No. 99. "But if he can't play, we have a number of options to step in."

He smiled a wry little smile.

"But obviously we hope he heals."

Hope might turn to silent prayer as the days begin to fly by. After all, there is much, Gretzky knows, to atone for.

"In '98," he argued in defense of the fourth-place finish in Nagano, "we didn't get a fair result for the work and preparation put in by the management and coaching staff."

Gretzky, however, learned valuable lessons from the crushing disappointment of four years ago. He was determined that this team would have more speed, more mobility (particularly on defense) and more panache. To an extent, it does.

"We were looking for more a possession game," explained Quinn. "While the defenseman (in Nagano) were great players, maybe there wasn't enough of that capability. This is a team with a lot of possibilities."

The choice of Ed Jovanovski on the blue line over Wade Redden of the Sens is a bit puzzling. JovoCop could certainly be more entertaining (in a good, or bad, way) but Canada might regret passing on Redden's unflappability on that big ice surface. Hearing Eddie Belfour's name announced raised more than a few eyebrows, when everyone felt as far back as the orientation camp in Calgary that The Eagle was a longshot, at best, to round out the goaltending trio.

When asked about Patrick Roy, who controversially decided to pull himself out of the running to man Canada's net, Gretzky replied: "I don't think I should have to talk anyone into playing for Canada. He didn't want to. He made his decision. Good for him."

Joe Nieuwendyk, like his Dallas Stars' teammate Belfour, was a bit of a surprise selection. His age and wonky wheels were against him, but he had allies in assistant coach Ken Hitchcock and Gretzky, who considered him Canada's most consistent performer in Nagano. He's also fairly flexible in being able to man either flank or at his customary center spot. This is a team deep in natural centers, so a bit of versatility here or there certainly didn't hurt his cause.

In reserve, Canada has compiled a list of six players -- one goalie, two defensemen and three forwards -- in case of injury. Final rosters do not have to be set until 24 hours prior to a team's first game.

What was announced at the Hall, though, will form the team that heads to the Olympic Games as clear-cut favorites.

"We're very happy with our team," said Gretzky in summation. "We feel very confident this team can do the job in Salt Lake."

So Canada got its expected lineup Saturday.

Now all that's left is the simple task of coming home with the expected result.

George Johnson of the Calgary Herald is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.